This lab focuses on understanding and performing password cracking using John the Ripper and Hashcat. The goal is to explore different techniques such as dictionary attacks, brute force, and hybrid attacks.
- John the Ripper: A fast password cracker primarily used for Unix-based systems.
- Hashcat: An advanced CPU/GPU-based password recovery tool supporting multiple hashing algorithms.
- Dictionary Attacks: Cracking passwords using a predefined list of potential passwords.
- Brute Force Attacks: Exhaustively attempting all possible password combinations.
- Hybrid Attacks: Combining dictionary attacks with additional brute-force attempts.
In this lab, I performed multiple password cracking exercises using both John the Ripper and Hashcat. The exercises demonstrated the process of cracking password hashes from shadow files and applying different attack strategies.